Up: [[Thinking]] Related: [[Emotions]] Created: 2024-02-10 Updated: 2026-01-20 ## Context Digging deeper after writing the note, [[Is Curiosity an Emotion?]], I’ve looked up knowledge emotions and found, no big surprise, Paul Silvia, the same guy who called them knowledge emotions in that note. The information here comes from a thing called the [NOBA Project](https://nobaproject.com/modules/knowledge-emotions-feelings-that-foster-learning-exploring-and-reflecting#:~:text=The%20family%20of%20knowledge%20emotions,what%20people%20expected%20or%20believed.). I’d never heard of it before. It’s an online free resource for psychology. I also later found reference to this emotions group in Brene Brown’s *Atlas of the Heart*. ## In General According to Silvia, knowledge emotions are emotional states that foster learning, exploring, and reflecting. They come from events that are unexpected, complicated, and mentally challenging. There are four. ### Surprise Surprise only requires that an event is unexpected. The term used is ‘high contrast’, meaning that it stands out against the background of what we expect to see or experience. The only caveat here is that you don’t want to be someone who is surprised by every little thing, such as a noise or a flash. If you’re that type where you’re startled by everything, this knowledge emotion doesn’t serve you… especially when you’re driving a car! Learning from surprise can happen in a split second, such as identifying the source of a strange or loud noise and then getting on with your day. ### Curiosity/Interest One of the most commonly experienced emotions in everyday life because we have to learn just about everything that we know. Interest is intrinsically motivated. We want to know things for their own sake. Things that are unexpected, unfamiliar, novel and complex can evoke interest. But interest is different from surprise because you have to feel that you’re able to cope with the challenge of the unexpected etcetera in order to find the thing interesting. Interest causes us to explore and think about the new thing, whether that’s a person, object or idea. So it builds knowledge and, if you stay with it long enough, deep expertise. Lot of research showing that interest promotes learning that is faster, deeper, better, more enjoyable because when you’re interested in something you engage with it more deeply and learn it more thoroughly. See also [[Benefits of Curiosity]] and [[Is Curiosity an Emotion?]] ### Confusion Encountering something that is both unfamiliar and hard to understand. Making students confused motivates them to think through a problem instead of being passive. I’m not convinced of this. I would think it is very much dependent on whether the student has a fixed or growth mindset. ### Awe [[Awe is a Deep and Uncommon Emotion]]